RDR bites? UK fund flows in doldrums at start of Q1

Fund group CEOs have blamed the impact of RDR for a sharp divergence between UK fund sales and those elsewhere in the world at the start of 2013.

Data produced for Investment Week by Lipper shows the rise in UK fund flows for January and February this year is severely lagging those seen in other markets. With investors across developed markets turning more optimistic as the year began, flows in January and February were some 79% higher year-on-year in Europe (ex UK) and 69% higher in the US. In the UK, however, flows were just 3.7% higher for the period – despite investor sentiment having been buoyed by a 20% rise in the FTSE 100 between the start of June 2012 and the end of February this year. “Towards the end of last year,...